Reviews were useful when you couldn't hear a release without buying/ordering it and waiting for it to show up in the mail 2-6 weeks later.

When it takes 30 seconds to find and listen to at least one whole song from almost any release, why bother with reviews at all?
Just make up your own mind!

Media criticism can be interesting on its own merits. A good critic can offer context, perspective, and connections that might not have occurred to a listener in isolation. And sometimes it's just good writing. The best known example of this is, of course, Lester Bangs.

Granted, that sort of reviewing does best in channels that are carefully curated. The signal to noise ratio on a site like Metal Archives is pretty terrible._________________

In general festivals are ok, and good fun is ok, not for BM as spiritual artform, but for people’s every day lives. Nothing against that. BM has overcome the ridiculous ‘Lord of silence that never laughs’ childish shit of the early 90s. Creating serious BM does not mean hiding in a cave, listening to Metal exclusively and wearing leather jackets. It does not mean living a stupid cliché. It does not mean to be a sad lad abandoning all easy joy and every day stupidities. But it means one’s art is dead serious and bears uncompromising content! And the thoughts presented in the lyrics are dangerous thoughts! And therefore serious BM still does not belong on such a festival stage like Wacken. Keep such ‘BM for the singalong masses’ slots reserved for the commercial darlings that write their ‘art’ for these occasions, for Rock´n´Roll bands like Immortal.

In general festivals are ok, and good fun is ok, not for BM as spiritual artform, but for people’s every day lives. Nothing against that. BM has overcome the ridiculous ‘Lord of silence that never laughs’ childish shit of the early 90s. Creating serious BM does not mean hiding in a cave, listening to Metal exclusively and wearing leather jackets. It does not mean living a stupid cliché. It does not mean to be a sad lad abandoning all easy joy and every day stupidities. But it means one’s art is dead serious and bears uncompromising content! And the thoughts presented in the lyrics are dangerous thoughts! And therefore serious BM still does not belong on such a festival stage like Wacken. Keep such ‘BM for the singalong masses’ slots reserved for the commercial darlings that write their ‘art’ for these occasions, for Rock´n´Roll bands like Immortal.

Holy fucking truth.

When I was reading this part I was kinda hoping he would write "Watain" instead of Immortal.

When I was reading this part I was kinda hoping he would write "Watain" instead of Immortal.

You really sit and hope that BM bands would say that Watain aren't serious/bad/whatever?
Damn, you're pretty obsessed with that band.

Agree with his statement, even though I love Immortal. It was one of the most "down to earth" yet serious statements about Black Metal in general I've read._________________Todays modern science is your modern religion.